2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season

The 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November 2009 and ended with the 2010 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament's championship game on April 6, 2010 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The tournament opened with the first and second rounds on Thursday through Sunday, March 18–21, 2010. Regional games were played on Thursday through Sunday, March 28–31, 2010, with the Final Four played on Sunday and Tuesday, April 4 and 6, 2010.

2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season
Regular season	November, 2009 – March 9, 2010
NCAA Tournament	2010
Tournament dates	March 21, 2010 – April 6, 2010
National Championship	Alamodome San Antonio, Texas
NCAA Champions	Connecticut Huskies
Other champions	California Golden Bears (WNIT) Appalachian State Mountaineers (WBI)
Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden)	Tina Charles, Connecticut Huskies (Naismith, Wooden) Maya Moore, Connecticut Huskies (Wade)
← 2008–09 2010–11 →

The Connecticut Huskies successfully defended their national title from the previous season, defeating Stanford 53–47 in the final. This was the Huskies' second consecutive unbeaten championship season, unprecedented since the NCAA began to organize women's basketball in the 1981–82 season.

Season headlines

• May 4:The tenth annual 2009 US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam is a women's basketball tournament that will take place on November 26–28, 2009. Eight teams from the NCAA have been invited to participate in the tournament. The teams will be separated into two brackets, the Reef Division and the Island Division. The Reef Division will consist of Mississippi State, Rutgers, Southern California and Texas. The Island Division will consist of Notre Dame, Oklahoma, San Diego State and South Carolina^[1]
• May 5: The Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten Conference announced the pairings for the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge for women's basketball, which is in the third year of a four-year agreement. The 2009 Challenge, which will take on a two-day format this year, will open on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The Big Ten/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge matches 11 teams from each conference in head-to-head competition traditionally on the first Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after Thanksgiving, following the men's basketball Big Ten/ACC Challenge.^[2] The Big Ten and ACC have been among the most successful conferences in women's basketball. During the 2008–09 season, the ACC was represented by six teams in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. It was the seventh straight year the league has had at least six teams in the tournament. Maryland advanced to the 2009 NCAA Regional Finals, giving the ACC at least one team in the Elite Eight for the eighth consecutive year. In 2005–06, the ACC became the first conference to send three teams: Duke, Maryland and North Carolina – to the same Final Four. Overall, the ACC has made 11 Final Four trips, including six in the past 13 years.^[2]
• May 28, 2009: NBA referee Violet Palmer was hired as coordinator of women's basketball officials for the West Coast Conference and will remain with the NBA, where she has worked for 12 seasons.^[3]
• July 1: Rutgers will play in the eighth annual Jimmy V Women's Classic when the Scarlet Knights host Florida on Dec. 7. This marks the fourth straight season the Scarlet Knights will take part in the game. They beat Georgia 45-34 last season. The games are part of the fundraising effort for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, which is named for the late Jim Valvano, who led North Carolina State to the national championship in 1983.^[4]
• July 7: Pat Summitt and C. Vivian Stringer will oppose each other in the fourth annual Maggie Dixon Classic. The women's doubleheader will be played Dec. 13 at Madison Square Garden. The two Hall of Fame coaches teams will meet in regular season play for the seventh straight year. Baylor and freshman star Brittney Griner will face Boston College in the other contest. The two teams played once before at Madison Square Garden. Tennessee won 68–54 in 1999. Baylor will be making its first appearance at MSG.^[5]
• August 4: Joan Bonvicini was introduced as the new women's basketball coach at Seattle University. She is one of only 18 coaches in Division I history with more than 600 victories.^[6]
• August 18: On January. 16, Notre Dame and Connecticut will be part of the first-ever ESPN women's basketball College GameDay broadcast. The game will be broadcast from Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn. The matchup between the Fighting Irish and Huskies will tip off at 9 p.m. (ET) and will be televised live to a national cable audience by ESPN.^[7]
• September 8: The West Coast Conference (WCC) and its multi-media rights partner, IMG College, announced Zappos.com as the official title sponsor of the WCC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships. The deal is effective through the 2011–12 season, and signifies the WCC's first-ever title sponsorship.^[8]

Major rule changes

Preseason

Preseason "Wade Watch" list

• On July 30, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), on behalf of the Wade Coalition, announced the 2009–2010 preseason "Wade Watch" list for The State Farm Wade Trophy Division I Player of the Year. The nominees are made up of top NCAA Division I student-athletes who best embody the spirit of Lily Margaret Wade. This is based on the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability. The list are as follows:
• Jayne Appel, Stanford^[9]
• Jessica Breland, North Carolina^[10]
• Tina Charles, Connecticut^[9]
• Alysha Clark, Middle Tennessee
• Allyssa DeHaan, Michigan State
• Alexis Gray-Lawson, California^[11]
• Tiffany Hayes, Connecticut
• Allison Hightower, LSU
• Ashley Houts, Georgia
• Jantel Lavender, Ohio State ^[12]
• Danielle McCray, Kansas
• Jacinta Monroe, Florida State
• Maya Moore, Connecticut
• Jené Morris, San Diego State
• Deirdre Naughton, DePaul ^[13]
• Kayla Pedersen, Stanford
• Ta'Shia Phillips, Xavier
• Jeanette Pohlen, Stanford
• Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State ^[12]
• Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State
• Danielle Robinson, Oklahoma^[14]
• Jenna Smith, Illinois^[15]
• Carolyn Swords, Boston College
• Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga^[16]
• Monica Wright, Virginia ^[17]

Preseason Wooden Award nominees

• August 21: The 2009–10 preseason candidates list for the Women's Wooden Award was released, naming 31 student athletes.^[18]

Name	Height	Class	Position	School
Jayne Appel	6-4	Sr.	F/C	Stanford
Erica Beverly	6-0	Sr.	F	Hartford
Angie Bjorklund	6-0	Jr.	G/F	Tennessee
Heather Bowman	6-2	Sr.	F	Gonzaga
Jessica Breland*	6-3	Sr.	F	North Carolina
Tina Charles	6-4	Sr.	C	Connecticut
Alysha Clark	5-10	Sr.	F	Middle Tennessee
Allyssa DeHaan	6-9	Sr.	C	Michigan State
Tyra Grant	5-11	Sr.	G	Penn State
Alexis Gray-Lawson	5-8	Sr.	G	California
Allison Hightower	5-10	Sr.	G	LSU
Ashley Houts	5-6	Sr.	G	Georgia
Ify Ibekwe	6-1	Jr.	F	Arizona
Jantel Lavender	6-4	Jr.	C	Ohio State
Gabriela Marginean	6-1	Sr.	F	Drexel
Danielle McCray	5-11	Sr.	G/F	Kansas
Nicole Michael	6-2	Sr.	F	Syracuse
Jacinta Monroe	6-4	Sr.	F/C	Florida State
Maya Moore	6-0	Jr.	F	Connecticut
Jené Morris	5-9	Sr.	G	San Diego State
Dierdre Naughton	5-10	Sr.	G	DePaul
Ta‘Shia Phillips	6-6	Jr.	C	Xavier
Jeanette Pohlen	6-0	Jr.	G	Stanford
Samantha Prahalis	5-7	So.	G	Ohio State
Andrea Riley	5-5	Sr.	G	Oklahoma State
Danielle Robinson	5-9	Jr.	G	Oklahoma
Jenna Smith	6-3	Sr.	C	Illinois
Ashley Sweat	6-2	Sr.	F	Kansas State
Carolyn Swords	6-6	Jr.	C	Boston College
Courtney Vandersloot	5-8	Jr.	G	Gonzaga
Monica Wright	5-11	Sr.	G	Virginia

Preseason WNIT

Ohio State headlines a field of 16-teams for the 2009 Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament. The field includes 11 teams that played in the postseason last spring: Arkansas-Little Rock, Bowling Green, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Tech, Marist, New Mexico, North Carolina A&T, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Winthrop. They will be joined in the Preseason WNIT field by Chicago State, Eastern Illinois, Northern Colorado, Towson, and UTEP.

The Preseason WNIT features a three-game guarantee format. The event opens Friday, November 13 with first-round games. Second-round games will be played November 15 and 16. The semifinals will be on November 18 and 19. The championship is set for Sunday, November 22. Teams that lose in the first two rounds will play consolation games on the second weekend, November 20–22. All games are hosted by participating schools, and sites are announced by the end of the preceding round.^[19] In last year's Preseason WNIT, North Carolina defeated Oklahoma 80-79.

• First-round Preseason WNIT games to be held on Friday, Nov. 13, 2009
  • Eastern Illinois (24-9) at Ohio State (29-6), 5 p.m. ET
  • UTEP (18-12) at Florida Gulf Coast (26-5), 7 p.m. ET
  • Arkansas-Little Rock (26-7) at Oklahoma State (17-16), 7 p.m. ET
  • Towson (17-13) at West Virginia (18-15), 7 p.m. ET
  • Winthrop (16-16) at Georgia Tech (22-10), 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Chicago State (16-13) at Bowling Green (29-5), 7:30 p.m. ET
  • North Carolina A&T (26-7) at Marist (29-4), 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Northern Colorado (12-18) at New Mexico (25-11), 9 p.m. ET

Season outlook

• Nov. 11: The Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences announced the formation of an annual inter-conference challenge for women's basketball. The challenge will span at least two years and will begin in the fall of 2010. The series will feature a home-and-home format over the initial two-year agreement, and each of the Big 12's teams will play in each Challenge, while one Big Ten team, Wisconsin, will play two Challenge games each year.^[20]

Pre-season polls

'Associated Press' Ranking School Points 1 Connecticut 1000 2 Stanford 951 3 Ohio State 862 4 Notre Dame 799 5 North Carolina 798 6 Duke 772 7 Baylor 744 8 Tennessee 676 9 LSU 600 10 Michigan State 521 11 Xavier 492 12 Texas 487 13 Oklahoma 444 14 Virginia 394 15 Florida State 385 16 Arizona State 317 17 DePaul 301 18 California 294 19 Georgia Tech 262 20 Kansas 241 21 Georgia 201 22 Vanderbilt 165 23 Louisville 156 24 Middle Tennessee 143 25 Rutgers 138

USA Today Ranking School Points 1 Connecticut 775 2 Stanford 739 3 Ohio State 653 4 Baylor 649 5 North Carolina 561 6 Duke 547 7 Notre Dame 438 8 Oklahoma 416 9 Tennessee 412 10 Michigan State 353 11 Arizona State 328 12 Florida State 323 13 California 314 14 Texas 311 15 Xavier 303 16 Texas A&M 302 17 LSU 298 18 Virginia 246 19 Louisville 232 20 Vanderbilt 223 21 Maryland 209 22 Pittsburgh 127 23 Purdue 126 24 Iowa State 125 25 DePaul 121

^[21]

Preseason All-Americans

• Jayne Appel, Stanford
• Tina Charles, Connecticut
• Jantel Lavender, Ohio State
• Maya Moore, Connecticut
• Monica Wright, Virginia^[22]
  • November 3: Maya Moore became just the seventh unanimous choice on The Associated Press' preseason All-America team. She received all 40 votes from a national media panel. It's the third straight year a player has been a unanimous choice in the preseason. Moore was joined on the preseason squad by teammate Tina Charles. It was the fifth time that two players from the same team made the All-America squad. Connecticut has also had two of the four other pairs of teammates on a preseason team – Jen Rizzotti and Kara Wolters in 1995–96 and Shea Ralph and Svetlana Abrosimova in 2000–01.^[22]

Preseason All-Conference teams

Big Ten

• 2009–10 Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year
  • Jantel Lavender
• Preseason All-Big Ten Coaches Team
  • Jenna Smith, Sr., F, ILL
  • Allyssa DeHaan, Sr., C, MSU
  • JANTEL LAVENDER, Jr., C, OSU
  • Samantha Prahalis, So., G, OSU
  • Tyra Grant, Sr., F, PSU
• Preseason All-Big Ten Media Team
  • Jenna Smith, Sr., F, ILL
  • Allyssa DeHaan, Sr., C, MSU
  • JANTEL LAVENDER, Jr., C, OSU
  • Samantha Prahalis, So., G, OSU
  • Tyra Grant, Sr., F, PSU

^[23]

Conference USA

• 2009–10 C-USA Preseason PLAYER OF THE YEAR
  • Emma Cannon, UCF
• 2009–10 C-USA Preseason Team
  • Courtney Taylor, Houston
  • Brittany Gilliam, SMU
  • Pauline Love, Southern Miss
  • Emma Cannon, UCF
  • Jareica Hughes, UTEP^[24]

Regular season

2009 Big Ten/ACC Challenge schedule

Date	Visiting Team	Home Team	Score	Leading Scorer	Attendance
Dec. 2/09	Georgia Tech	Penn State	G Tech 64-60[25]	Tyra Grant, PSU (20)	TBD
Dec. 2/09	Illinois	Wake Forest	Illinois, 65-50[26]	Jenna Smith, Illinois (27)	TBD
Dec. 2/09	Boston College	Iowa	BC, 72-67[27]	Kamilee Wahlin, Iowa (23)	TBD
Dec. 3/09	Michigan	Virginia Tech	Mich, 71-51	Veronica Hicks, Michigan (19)[28]	TBD
Dec. 3/09	Clemson	Northwestern	CLEM, 69-68	Kirstyn Wright, Clemson (22)	TBD
Dec. 3/09	Minnesota	Maryland	MD, 66-45	Kim Rodgers, Maryland (14)[29]	TBD
Dec. 3/09	North Carolina	Michigan State	MSU, 72-66	Italee Lucas, North Carolina (29)[30]	TBD
Dec. 3/09	Ohio State	Duke	Duke, 83-67	Jasmine Thomas, Duke (29)	TBD
Dec. 3/09	Purdue	Virginia	VA, 56-49	Brittany Rayburn, Purdue (19)[31]	TBD
Dec. 3/09	Florida State	Indiana	FSU, 82-74	Jori Davis, Indiana (23)[32]	TBD
Dec. 3/09	Wisconsin	NC State	Wisc, 53-48	Taylor Wurtz, Wisconsin (13)[33]	TBD

^[2]

Early season tournaments

Name	Dates	Num. teams	Location	Championship
Aggie Hotel Encato Classic	Nov. 27-28	4	Las Cruces, New Mexico	New Mexico State Aggies
ASU Classic	Dec. 4-5	4	Tempe, Arizona
Bahamas Tournament	Dec. 19-20	4	Nassau, Bahamas
Basketball Travelers Tip-Off Tournament	Nov. 27-29	4	Lubbock, Texas
Big Easy Classic	Dec. 4-5	4	New Orleans, Louisiana
BTI Classic	Nov. 20-22	4	West Lafayette, Ind.	Dayton Flyers
BTI Tip-Off Tournament	Nov. 27-28
Buckeye Classic	Nov. 28-29	4	Columbus, Ohio	Ohio State Buckeyes
Cal Poly Holiday Beach Classic	Nov. 28-29	4	San Luis Obispo, California	Illinois Fighting Illini
Caribbean Challenge	Nov. 26-27	4	Cancún, Mexico	Duke Blue Devils
Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic	Dec. 4
Desert Sun Classic	Dec. 19-20	4	Las Vegas
Great Alaska Shootout	Nov. 24-25	4	Anchorage	Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves
Holiday Inn & Suites Express Thanksgiving Tournament	Nov. 27-28	4	Albuquerque, New Mexico	Toledo Rockets
Hukilau Tournament	Dec. 4-5		Laie, Hawai'I
Iona Tip-Off Tournament	Nov. 14-15	4	New Rochelle, New York	Arizona Wildcats
Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic	Nov. 27-29	4	Honolulu, HI	Arizona State Sun Devils
Junkanoo Jam	Nov. 27-28		Bahamas	Michigan State Spartans
KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge	Nov. 14-15	4	Iowa City, Iowa	Iowa Hawkeyes
Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic	Nov 27-28	4	Hattiesburg, Mississippi	Georgia Lady Bulldogs
Las Vegas Hoops Classic (Duel in the Desert)	Dec. 19-20	4	Las Vegas	Baylor Lady Bears
LIU Thanksgiving Tournament	Nov. 27-28	4	Brooklyn, New York	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Maggie Dixon Classic	Dec. 13	2	New York	Baylor Lady Bears
Maine Classic	Nov. 27-28	4	Orono, Maine	Penn State Lady Lions
Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational	Nov. 29-Dec. 2		Evanston, Ill.
Navy Classic	Nov. 20-21	2	Annapolis, Maryland	Navy Midshipmen
Northwestern Tournament	Nov. 27-28	4	Evanston, Ill.	Iowa State Cyclones
Nugget Classic	Nov. 7-8	4	Reno, Nevada	West Virginia Mountaineers
Omni Hotels Classic	Nov. 27-28		Boulder, Colorado	Colorado Buffaloes
Paradise Jam Tournament	Nov. 25-28	8	US Virgin Islands	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Saint Mary's Hilton Tournament	Nov. 27-29	4	Moraga, California	Nebraska Cornhuskers
San Diego Surf and Slam	Dec. 28-30		San Diego, California
Seminole Classic	Nov. 27-29	4	Tallahassee, Florida	Florida State Seminoles
SMU Tournament	Nov. 27-28	4	Dallas, Texas	Boston College Eagles
Subway Basketball Classic	Nov. 21-22	4	Minneapolis	Minnesota Golden Gophers
Terrapin Classic	Dec. 27-29		College Park, Maryland
Tulane DoubleTree Classic	Dec. 28-29	4	New Orleans, Louisiana
University of Miami Thanksgiving Tournament	Nov. 27-28	4	Coral Gables, Florida	Miami Hurricanes
University of Miami Holiday Tournament	Dec. 28-29		Coral Gables, Florida
Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament	Nov. 27-28	4	Nashville, Tennessee	Vanderbilt Commodores
Villanova Tournament	Dec. 28-29		Villanova, Pennsylvania
Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic	Dec. 29-30		Honolulu, HI
WBCA Classic	Nov. 27-Nov. 29	4		Connecticut Huskies
Women of Troy Classic	Dec. 19 – Dec. 20		Galen Center
World Vision Classic	Nov. 27-Nov. 29	4	Waco, Texas	Baylor Lady Bears
World Vision Invitational	Nov. 27-Nov. 29	4	Eugene, Oregon	Wisconsin Badgers

Conference winners and tournaments

Thirty athletic conferences each end their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that win their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament, with tiebreakers applied if more than one team tops the season standings. In the table below, if teams tied for the regular-season title, the first team listed won the tiebreaker for top seed in the tournament.

The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2010 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament. The Ivy League does not have a conference tournament, instead giving their automatic invitation to their regular-season champion. The Great West Conference began play in 2009–10 and does not receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Conference	Regular Season Winner[34]	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament winner[35]
America East Conference	Hartford	Diana Delva, Hartford[36]	2010 America East women's basketball tournament	All games before final at Chase Family Arena (West Hartford, Connecticut) Final at highest remaining seed	Vermont
Atlantic 10 Conference	Xavier	Amber Harris, Xavier[37]	2010 Atlantic 10 women's basketball tournament	The Show Place Arena (Upper Marlboro, Maryland)	Xavier
Atlantic Coast Conference	Duke & Florida State	Monica Wright, Virginia[38]	2010 ACC women's basketball tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	Duke
Atlantic Sun Conference	East Tennessee State	Siarre Evans, East Tennessee State[39]	2010 Atlantic Sun women's basketball tournament	University Center (Macon, Georgia)	East Tennessee State
Big 12 Conference	Nebraska	Kelsey Griffin, Nebraska[40]	2010 Big 12 women's basketball tournament	Municipal Auditorium (Kansas City, Missouri)	Texas A&M
Big East Conference	Connecticut	Tina Charles, Connecticut[41]	2010 Big East women's basketball tournament	XL Center (Hartford, Connecticut)	Connecticut
Big Sky Conference	Eastern Washington	Julie Piper, Eastern Washington[42]	2010 Big Sky women's basketball tournament	Reese Court (Cheney, Washington)	Portland State
Big South Conference	Gardner–Webb	Margaret Roundtree, Gardner–Webb[43]	2010 Big South Conference women's basketball tournament	Millis Center (High Point, North Carolina)	Liberty
Big Ten Conference	Ohio State	Jantel Lavender, Ohio State (coaches and media)[44]	2010 Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament	Conseco Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)	Ohio State
Big West Conference	UC Davis	Kristina Santiago, Cal Poly[45]	2010 Big West Conference women's basketball tournament	Anaheim Convention Center (Anaheim, California)	UC Riverside
Colonial Athletic Association	Old Dominion	Elena Delle Donne, Delaware[46]	2010 CAA women's basketball tournament	JMU Convocation Center (Harrisonburg, Virginia)	James Madison
Conference USA	Tulane	Courtney Taylor, Houston[47]	2010 Conference USA women's basketball tournament	Reynolds Center (Tulsa, Oklahoma)	Tulane
Great West Conference	North Dakota	Kayla Bagaason, North Dakota[48]	2010 Great West Conference women's basketball tournament	McKay Events Center (Orem, Utah)	Utah Valley
Horizon League	Green Bay	Melanie Thornton, Butler[49]	2010 Horizon League women's basketball tournament	First round and quarterfinals at campus sites, Final Four at Kress Events Center (Green Bay, Wisconsin)	Cleveland State
Ivy League	Princeton	Judie Lomax, Columbia[50]	No Tournament
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference	Marist	Rachele Fitz, Marist[51]	2010 MAAC women's basketball tournament	Times Union Center (Albany, New York)	Marist
Mid-American Conference	Bowling Green (East & overall) Toledo (West)	Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green[52]	2010 MAC women's basketball tournament	Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland, Ohio)	Bowling Green
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	North Carolina A&T	Corin Adams, Morgan State[53]	2010 MEAC women's basketball tournament	Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)	Hampton
Missouri Valley Conference	Illinois State	Casey Garrison, Missouri State[54]	2010 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament	The Family Arena (St. Charles, Missouri)	Northern Iowa
Mountain West Conference	TCU	Helena Sverrisdóttir, TCU[55]	2010 MWC women's basketball tournament	Thomas & Mack Center (Paradise, Nevada)	San Diego State
Northeast Conference	Robert Morris	Angela Pace, Robert Morris[56]	2010 Northeast Conference women's basketball tournament	Quarterfinals and semifinals at DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pennsylvania) Final at highest remaining seed	Saint Francis
Ohio Valley Conference	Eastern Illinois	Chynna Bozeman, Morehead State[57]	2010 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball tournament	First round at campus sites, Final Four at Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, Tennessee)	Austin Peay
Pacific-10 Conference	Stanford	Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Stanford (coaches[58] and media[59])	2010 Pacific-10 Conference women's basketball tournament	Galen Center (Los Angeles)	Stanford
Patriot League	Lehigh & American	Michelle Kirk, American[60]	2010 Patriot League women's basketball tournament	Quarterfinals and semifinals at Hart Center (Worcester, Massachusetts) Final at highest remaining seed	Lehigh
Southeastern Conference	Tennessee	Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky[61]	2010 SEC women's basketball tournament	Arena at Gwinnett Center (Duluth, Georgia)	Tennessee
Southern Conference	Chattanooga	Shanara Hollinquest, Chattanooga (coaches[62] and media[63])	2010 Southern Conference women's basketball tournament	Bojangles' Coliseum (first two rounds) Time Warner Cable Arena (semifinals and final) (Charlotte, North Carolina)	Chattanooga
Southland Conference	Stephen F. Austin (East) Lamar (West & overall #1 seed by tiebreaker)	Jenna Plumley, Lamar[64]	2010 Southland Conference women's basketball tournament	Leonard E. Merrell Center (Katy, Texas)	Lamar
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Southern	Katrich Williams, Alabama A&M[65]	2010 SWAC women's basketball tournament	CenturyTel Center (Bossier City, Louisiana)	Southern
The Summit League	Oral Roberts	Kevi Luper, Oral Roberts[66]	2010 Summit League women's basketball tournament	Sioux Falls Arena (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)	South Dakota State
Sun Belt Conference	Middle Tennessee (East) UALR (West & overall #1 seed by tiebreaker)	Alysha Clark, Middle Tennessee[67]	2010 Sun Belt women's basketball tournament	Summit Arena (Hot Springs, Arkansas)	Middle Tennessee
West Coast Conference	Gonzaga	Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga[68]	2010 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament	Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada)	Gonzaga
Western Athletic Conference	Fresno State	Shanavia Dowdell, Louisiana Tech[69]	2010 WAC women's basketball tournament	Lawlor Events Center (Reno, Nevada)	Louisiana Tech

Coaching changes

Final season rankings

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main article: 2010 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament

Final Four – Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 2010 Women's National Invitation Tournament

Women's Basketball Invitational

Main article: 2010 Women's Basketball Invitational

This season saw the debut of a third national postseason tournament in the Women's Basketball Invitational, a 16-team affair with all games played on home courts.

The inaugural title was won by Appalachian State, who came back from a 19-point deficit to defeat Memphis 79–71 in the final held on the Mountaineers' home floor in Boone, North Carolina.^[70]

Awards and honors

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 2010 NCAA Women's Basketball All-Americans

Major player of the year awards

• Wooden Award: Tina Charles, Connecticut
• Naismith Award: Tina Charles, Connecticut
• Wade Trophy: Maya Moore, Connecticut

Major coach of the year awards

• Kay Yow Award: Connie Yori, Nebraska
• Maggie Dixon Award: Teresa Weatherspoon, Louisiana Tech
• Naismith College Coach of the Year: Connie Yori, Nebraska
• WBCA National Coach of the Year: Connie Yori, Nebraska

Other major awards

• Nancy Lieberman Award (Best point guard): Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State
• Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player 5'8"/1.73 m or shorter): Alexis Gray-Lawson, California
• Lowe's Senior CLASS Award (top senior): Kelsey Griffin, Nebraska

Conference standings

2009–10 America East Conference women's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Hartford 16 – 0   1.000 27 – 5   .844 Vermont † 13 – 3   .813 27 – 7   .794 Boston U. 11 – 5   .688 16 – 15   .516 Stony Brook 7 – 9   .438 10 – 20   .333 Binghamton 7 – 9   .438 11 – 19   .367 UMBC 7 – 9   .438 13 – 17   .433 Albany 4 – 12   .250 11 – 19   .367 Maine 4 – 12   .250 8 – 21   .276 New Hampshire 3 – 13   .188 9 – 22   .290 † 2010 America East tournament winner	2009–10 ACC women's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Duke 12 – 2   .857 30 – 6   .833 Florida State 12 – 2   .857 29 – 6   .829 Virginia 9 – 5   .643 21 – 10   .677 Georgia Tech 8 – 6   .571 23 – 10   .697 North Carolina State 7 – 7   .500 20 – 14   .588 Wake Forest 7 – 7   .500 18 – 14   .563 North Carolina 6 – 8   .429 19 – 12   .613 Boston College 6 – 8   .429 17 – 15   .531 Maryland 5 – 9   .357 21 – 13   .618 Miami 4 – 10   .286 22 – 14   .611 Virginia Tech 4 – 10   .286 15 – 15   .500 Clemson 4 – 10   .286 13 – 18   .419 † 2010 ACC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	2009–10 Big 12 Conference women's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 Nebraska 16 – 0   1.000 32 – 2   .941 No. 16 Iowa State 11 – 5   .688 25 – 8   .758 No. 12 Oklahoma 11 – 5   .688 27 – 11   .711 No. 9 Texas A&M † 10 – 6   .625 26 – 8   .765 No. 17 Texas 10 – 6   .625 22 – 11   .667 No. 14 Baylor 9 – 7   .563 27 – 10   .730 No. 20 Oklahoma State 9 – 7   .563 24 – 11   .686 Texas Tech 5 – 11   .313 18 – 15   .545 Kansas State 5 – 11   .313 14 – 18   .438 Kansas 5 – 11   .313 17 – 16   .515 Colorado 3 – 13   .188 13 – 17   .433 Missouri 2 – 14   .125 12 – 18   .400 † 2010 Big 12 Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll [71]
2009–10 Big East Conference women's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Connecticut 16 – 0   1.000 39 – 0   1.000 West Virginia 13 – 3   .813 29 – 6   .829 Georgetown 13 – 3   .813 26 – 7   .788 St. John's 12 – 4   .750 25 – 7   .781 Notre Dame 12 – 4   .750 29 – 6   .829 Rutgers 9 – 7   .563 19 – 15   .559 DePaul 9 – 7   .563 21 – 12   .636 Providence 7 – 9   .438 19 – 15   .559 Syracuse 7 – 9   .438 25 – 11   .694 Marquette 6 – 10   .375 17 – 16   .515 South Florida 6 – 10   .375 15 – 16   .484 Pittsburgh 5 – 11   .313 16 – 15   .516 Louisville 5 – 11   .313 14 – 18   .438 Cincinnati 4 – 12   .250 12 – 18   .400 Villanova 3 – 13   .188 14 – 16   .467 Seton Hall 1 – 15   .063 9 – 21   .300 † 2010 Big East tournament winner	2009–10 Big Ten women's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 8 Ohio State† 15 – 3   .833 31 – 5   .861 No. 24 Michigan State 12 – 6   .667 23 – 10   .697 Wisconsin 10 – 8   .556 21 – 11   .656 Iowa 10 – 8   .556 20 – 14   .588 Purdue 9 – 9   .500 15 – 17   .469 Michigan 8 – 10   .444 20 – 13   .606 Penn State 8 – 10   .444 17 – 14   .548 Illinois 7 – 11   .389 19 – 14   .576 Northwestern 7 – 11   .389 18 – 15   .545 Indiana 7 – 11   .389 14 – 16   .467 Minnesota 6 – 12   .333 13 – 17   .433 † 2010 Big Ten tournament winner As of 3-27-2010 Rankings from AP Poll	2009–10 Mid-American Conference women's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Bowling Green † 14 – 2   .875 27 – 6   .818 Kent State 12 – 4   .750 20 – 10   .667 Akron 11 – 5   .688 18 – 13   .581 Miami (OH) 6 – 10   .375 9 – 22   .290 Ohio 4 – 12   .250 8 – 22   .267 Buffalo 3 – 13   .188 7 – 23   .233 West Toledo 12 – 4   .750 24 – 8   .750 Eastern Michigan 11 – 5   .688 22 – 8   .733 Central Michigan 8 – 8   .500 12 – 18   .400 Ball State 7 – 9   .438 14 – 17   .452 Northern Illinois 4 – 12   .250 10 – 19   .345 Western Michigan 4 – 12   .250 9 – 21   .300 † 2010 MAC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll
2009–10 Pacific-10 Conference women's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Stanford † 18 – 0   1.000 36 – 2   .947 No. 23 UCLA 15 – 3   .833 25 – 9   .735 USC 12 – 6   .667 19 – 12   .613 California 11 – 7   .611 24 – 13   .649 Arizona State 9 – 9   .500 18 – 14   .563 Oregon 7 – 11   .389 18 – 16   .529 Washington 7 – 11   .389 13 – 18   .419 Arizona 6 – 12   .333 14 – 17   .452 Washington State 3 – 15   .167 8 – 22   .267 Oregon State 2 – 16   .111 11 – 20   .355 † 2010 Pacific-10 Tournament winner As of April 6, 2010 Rankings from AP Poll	2009–10 SEC women's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Tennessee† 15 – 1   .938 32 – 3   .914 No. 19 Kentucky 11 – 5   .688 28 – 8   .778 Mississippi State 9 – 7   .563 21 – 13   .618 No. 21 LSU 9 – 7   .563 21 – 10   .677 Vanderbilt 9 – 7   .563 23 – 11   .676 No. 23 Georgia 9 – 7   .563 25 – 9   .735 Florida 7 – 9   .438 15 – 17   .469 South Carolina 7 – 9   .438 14 – 15   .483 Ole Miss 7 – 9   .438 17 – 15   .531 Auburn 5 – 11   .313 15 – 16   .484 Alabama 4 – 12   .250 12 – 18   .400 Arkansas 4 – 12   .250 12 – 18   .400 † 2010 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll	2009–10 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT East Division Middle Tennessee† 17 – 1   .944 25 – 6   .806 Western Kentucky 14 – 4   .778 21 – 11   .656 Florida Atlantic 10 – 8   .556 14 – 15   .483 FIU 9 – 9   .500 14 – 16   .467 South Alabama 9 – 9   .500 15 – 16   .484 Troy 5 – 13   .278 12 – 17   .414 West Division Arkansas–Little Rock 17 – 1   .944 27 – 6   .818 Denver 12 – 6   .667 18 – 13   .581 Arkansas State 7 – 11   .389 13 – 18   .419 North Texas 5 – 13   .278 9 – 22   .290 New Orleans 4 – 14   .222 12 – 20   .375 Louisiana–Monroe 4 – 14   .222 10 – 19   .345 Louisiana–Lafayette 4 – 14   .222 10 – 22   .313 † Tournament winner Rankings from Coaches

See also

• 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
• 2010 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
• 2009–10 ACC women's basketball season
• 2009–10 Big Ten Conference women's basketball season
• 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
• 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season